James Stephens

James Stephens (26 January 1825-29 March 1901) was President of the Irish Republican Brotherhood from 17 March 1858 to December 1866, preceding Thomas J. Kelly.

Biography
James Stephens was born in Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Ireland on 26 January 1825, and he became an Irish republican during his mid-twenties; he saw the Repeal Association leader Daniel O'Connell as "a wind-bag", and he decided to join the Young Irelanders. In response to the Great Famine, the Repeal Association declined and the nationalist movement gained popularity, and Stephens fought in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848. After the uprising's failure, he and John O'Mahony fled into exile in Paris, France. In 1856, he returned to Ireland and took part in a 3,000-mile walk throughout the island. In 1858, he became the first President of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, going on a mission to the United States to establish the Fenian Brotherhood there. In 1865, he was arrested after the Fenians' plans for an uprising in Ireland reached Dublin Castle, and he died in 1901.